Copernic is a Windows program that "searches the Internet search engines." Instead of manually conducting a search on one search engine and then going to another search engine to conduct a second search, and so forth,Copernic searches multiple search engines at once. It then summarizes the results of all the search engines on one screen. No one Internet search engine has all the information. The capability to search multiple search engines greatly increases the odds of finding the information you seek.

I have used other Windows programs that search multiple search engines as well as online search engines that are similar, such as Dogpile at http://www.dogpile.com and Google at http://www.google.com. Yet Copernic still works best for me; it seems to produce results quickly and easily, often finding data that I cannot find with other search methods. It searches both Google and Dogpile, so it always finds what those two sites have to offer. Then it supplements that information by searching many more search engines. Copernic also has some unique filters that delete many dead links and out-of-date information.

I wrote about a previous version, Copernic 98, in the October 24, 1998 edition of this newsletter. Here is an excerpt from that newsletter:

Copernic 98

I suspect that we all use Internet search engines. Frequently the first search engine you use doesn't have the information you want, so you try a different search engine. And then maybe a third. Wouldn't it be nice to be able to search all the major search engines at once?

Several programs have been available for months that will automate the process of searching several search engines at once. I have written about them before. There are even some search engines that search other search engines. The best-known one is Dogpile, although I believe there are others as well. This week I found a new program that looks good; I have now deleted the older one I used and have switched to Copernic 98.

Copernic 98 makes it easy to search for all sorts of information on the Web or in newsgroups. Copernic 98 simultaneously looks for information on Alta Vista, AOL Netfind, Excite, Hotbot, InfoSeek, LookSmart, Lycos, Magellan, WebCrawler, and Yahoo. When searching newsgroups, it searches AltaVista Usenet, Deja News, and Reference.com. To find e-mail addresses, Copernic 98 searches BigFoot, Four11, InfoSpace, Internet Address Finder, Mirabilis, Switchboard, and WhoWhere.

To be sure, I am not certain that Copernic 98 does anything that the other "search the search engines" programs cannot do. But the Copernic 98 is very easy to use, works quickly, and best of all, is free for personal use. Quoting from the program's advertising:

This install-and-forget-it freebie from Agents Technologies integrates seamlessly with the IE interface. It accesses a self-updating list of major search engines to perform multithreaded searches, and even culls through newsgroups and public email databases to satisfy your relentless thirst for knowledge. Use the included query, refinement, and URL validation options to quickly drill through search engine clutter. A built-in Web browser displays your results as a hyperlinked list of page titles and header information. You can easily navigate relevant sites from within Copernic, and then send the best candidates to your browser.

While the above says it "integrates seamlessly with the IE interface," I found that it also works perfectly with Netscape. I have been using Copernic 98 and Netscape on CompuServe's network; it should work on any standard Internet service provider's network.

Copernic 98 generates inquiries to all major Web search engines, newsgroups, and a number of e-mail directories used to find people, such as Four11.com and Bigfoot.com. The program features multi-threaded, full Boolean searches. Results are compiled and presented in an Explorer-style results browser.

In the two-and-a-half years since my first review was written, Copernic has been upgraded several times and become even more powerful. The producing company has changed their name to Copernic Technologies Incorporated. However, during all this time, the program has been installed on the hard drive of all my computers: home, work, and laptop. I have used it frequently. I have looked at other search programs and search engines, but I keep coming back to Copernic. And, no, I am not affiliated with Copernic in any way. I am simply a satisfied user.

In the October 30, 1999 edition of this newsletter, I wrote about the newly updated program, then called Copernic 2000. The newer version added a few bells and whistles but still was not designed for genealogy. While Copernic 2000 worked well for a multitude of search purposes, it still did not search the online genealogy databases.

Shortly after I wrote the October 30, 1999 article I received an e-mail from a marketing manager at Copernic Technologies. She had heard of my review and asked what I thought could be added to improve the product still further. Of course, I replied, "search the genealogy databases." She then sent another e-mail with a thank you note and I soon forgot all about it.

This week Copernic Technologies Incorporated sent me a new version, appropriately named Copernic 2001. It is available in three formats: a free version, a Copernic Plus version, and a Copernic Pro version. The free version is now called Copernic 2001 Basic, and it uses 7 predefined search categories to providing access to 80 major information sources such as AltaVista, Excite, HotBot, Infoseek, Lycos, WebCrawler, and Yahoo!. The free version is "adware." That is, the user will see advertisements built into the program. It searches search engines, newsgroups, and e-mail directories. It also has the capability to search specific online retail merchant catalog sites for books, computer hardware, or computer software. The free version does not have a genealogy search, however.

The two commercial versions, Copernic 2001 Plus and Copernic 2001 Pro, offer some 90 categories instead of 7. The company claims that these programs give you access to more than 1000 search engines. Both the Plus and the Pro version have a Genealogy category, which searches four genealogy sites: Ancestry.com, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saint's FamilySearch.org, Geneanet.org, and the World Connect Project on RootsWeb.com. Apparently it searches the message boards and collections of GEDCOM files on those four sites but not the relational databases. I also noted that Copernic 2001 Plus and Copernic 2001 Pro do not display advertisements.

The version sent to me was Copernic 2001 Pro. I first clicked on the genealogy category and specified a search for my own surname. In effect, I said, "show me all the Eastmans." A few seconds later I was looking at a multitude of references. I narrowed the search by specifying a search for "Timothy Eastman." The program then displayed ten references to men of that name. I could click on any reference, and a full screen would appear with the information found on that particular Web site.

Copernic 2001 Pro apparently does not search the Ancestral File, the IGI, the Social Security Death Index, or any of the other relational databases. Instead, it searches the static Web pages, such as the message surname boards on the four genealogy sites and the submitted GEDCOM files on RootsWeb’s WorldConnect Project. In fact, most of the results that I saw were from the RootsWeb’s WorldConnect Project, plus a few from the other three sites being searched. I was pleased with the searches performed but would have preferred to see even more data from the other offerings on these four Web sites.

Of course, you can find information about ancestors on more than the above four sites. The above searches were conducted by clicking on the "Genealogy" tab in Copernic 2001 Pro. I also conducted similar searches on the default setting by clicking on the tab for "The Web." This found references on Google, Dogpile, AltaVista, Excite, HotBot, Infoseek, Lycos, WebCrawler, Yahoo, and similar generic search engines. The tab to search "The Web" is available in the free version as well.

Copernic 2001 Pro is the high-end product with many features. One that I like is a powerful Tracking Agent function, which automatically updates specific searches and notifies you by e-mail when new results are found. It also features automated search operations such as downloading, validating and refining, keyword spell checking, and more. I now have Copernic 2001 Pro conduct the same search every Wednesday morning at 3 a.m. It keeps the findings from week to week. After each week's new search, the program sends an e-mail to me that lists any new pages it found to meet my specifications. When I awake later, I have an e-mail in my in basket, of possible new genealogy leads.

One of the unique features in Copernic is that, every time you run it, the program also checks the Copernic Web site to see if a program update is available. If it finds a later version, the program offers to automatically download and install the latest version. You can easily keep the most up-to-date version installed on your system.

All in all, I am pleased with the latest evolution of Copernic. It would be nice if it searched still more genealogy databases. Still, it is the fastest and easiest "search the search engines" program that I have encountered. Keep in mind that most of the features I have written about in this article are available only in the Plus and Pro versions. The Basic version is still a great program for searching multiple search engines but does not have the extra features I have written about.

Copernic 2001 is brand new. In fact, it is so new that it is not yet mentioned on the Copernic home page. I suspect that will change in a few days, however.

Copernic 2001 Basic will remain as a free program. It is very powerful but will not have the specific genealogy search feature. Copernic 2001 Basic features 7 categories: The Web, Newsgroups, E-mail Addresses, Buy Books, Buy Hardware, and Buy Software. Some 80 information sources are accessible with this version. The commercial versions, Copernic 2001 Plus and Copernic 2001 Pro, on the other hand, offer some 90 categories (including Genealogy), giving you access to more than 1000 search engines.

Copernic 2001 (all versions) requires Windows 95/98/Me/NT4/2000, either Netscape 3 (or later) or Internet Explorer 3 (or later), 15 megabytes of RAM memory plus at least 10 megabytes of free disk space.

Since the 2001 version of the software is not yet announced on the company’s Web site, I cannot tell you the prices. However, the year-2000 version of Copernic Basic is free, Copernic Plus sells for $39.95 (U.S. funds) while Copernic Pro sells for $79.95. I suspect that the 2001 versions will be about the same prices.

Copernic is a great program, either in the free version or the extra-cost versions. I would suggest you first download the free version and experiment with that. Then you will know whether or not you want to pay for the extra features available in the for-pay versions. For more information, or to download the Copernic 2000 Basic program, go to: . I expect the Copernic 2001 version will appear at the same site soon.